Imagine this – theoretically speaking – if you could place your bipod right at the target, on an extension yards away from your rifle, you would never miss the target, right? Even if you jump up and down while pulling the trigger at your shooting spot. The (extended) position of your bipod will eliminate any movement effect of the rifle based on the axiom principle. Therefore, mathematically it would be impossible to miss the target.Â
After I missed my shot and set the bullet drop aside, that impulsive scenario ran into my mind … and this is how it all began …Â
I returned from shooting practice with bizarre remarks about my set-up during the day: It sure seemed that the further out the bipod was placed, the more stable my shooting platform became. (Death to the dancing crosshairs!)
Is that even a thing? Is there a way, a device, a readily available means that allows a shooter to quickly, easily, and reliably place a rifle’s resting point – a bipod or something similar – out … way out … up to the muzzle … or even past the muzzle? I was thinking, “This is obvious, way too obvious. If indeed this is useful, it surely already exists. – I need that device … I need that stabilizer. Certainly an impulse purchase, but something I had to have.”
Google never appeared faster in front of my eyes before. Let’s search for this beautiful “rifle stabilizer” or “bipod extender.” I’d bet it was invented sometime in the 60s or 50s, or even earlier … Agonizing disappointment; Google has never before given me fewer search results. And some of the few search results even showed bipods attached directly to the barrel! Yeah! –Â Face slam Emoji! –Â We all know we can’t do that. Not for Precision rifles, anyway.Â
“Google must be having technical problems today. Forget it.” I must test and feel this “extended resting point” for myself. Home Depo to the resque. While browsing at Aisle 12, a piece of 1.5″ x 1.5″ x 8′ aluminum tube lured me into taking it home.Â
Back home … 8′ is too long … Hacksaw in hand and cut 2′ of it … oh wait – “Why not use it for all it’s got?” I strapped the aluminum tube to my Benjamin with duct tape (that’s right, I first did this with my Benjamin). It was far from being as rigid as it needed to be, but it was solid enough for a simple test.Â
On my next day of shooting practice, while I was sighting down the scope, I was moving up and down, sitting down and getting up, and the 100 yards target was barely getting away from my crosshairs. “Wow! What on Earth? Trigonometry works, after all? This deserves a deeper look.“